Christopher Mackay’s Blog

Before watching Tactiva’s QuickTime TactaPad demontration videos, it had never really occurred to me just how linear and sequential most GUI-based interactions with computers are.

TactaPad’s new paradigm blows that wide open and allows a much more natural process — one that could make the computer more transparent to the user. At first glance, it looks child-like in its simplicity, but it soon becomes apparent that there’s a lot of subtlety at work. This would make it easily and quickly acceptable to a broad range of users.

Their FAQ states that they’re not currently for sale as they’re looking for a manufacturing partner. Let’s hope they find one; I’d buy one immediately. If Wacom has any sense, they’ll snap this up immediately. And let’s hope Apple, Microsoft, Adobe/Macromedia and other developers add support for this device into their software.

This looks like a real winner. The potential gains in apps like Final Cut, Illustrator, Flash, PowerPoint, Keynote, Finder, etc., are mind-boggling. The future development of these apps could go off in exciting new directions once freed from sequential, linear thinking. I’d love to see what they could do in apps that aren’t oriented around object-manipulation, things like Word or Photoshop.

With third-party templates overlaid on the board, it could even act as a keyboard replacement, or have trackpad-like navigation areas reserved. The possibilities are endless.

This device could also be a great help for those with accessibility issues. From a motor-control perspective, an input device that acts as an alternative to mice, pens, and keyboards, and doesn’t require grasping could be tremendously beneficial.

I can’t wait to get my hands on one.